The Entrance Band

Following a stint as bassist in angular emo-rock trio the Convocation Of..., Baltimore native Guy Blakeslee relocated to Chicago in the early 2000s and began performing solo under the name Entrance. Blakeslee's somber yet trippy acoustic songs quickly landed him a regular spot at tastemaking dive bar the Hideout, where his sounds caught the ear of the Tiger Style label. The label released the first Entrance solo long-player, The Kingdom of Heaven Must Be Taken by Storm, in 2003. Blakeslee began touring voraciously in this early phase, opening shows across the globe over the next few years for indie luminaries like Cat Power, Sonic Youth, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Devendra Banhart, among others. Two full-lengths, Careless Love and Wandering Stranger, were released in 2004. Blakeslee had been playing semi-randomly with various musicians up until this point, but for 2006's self-released Prayer of Death, he collaborated heavily with drummer Derek W. James and bassist Paz Lenchantin. By now all three musicians were stationed in Los Angeles, and Prayer of Death saw a coagulation of Blakeslee's acid folk wanderings with the rhythm section's darkly primal psychedelic grooves. The group solidified its sound and changed its name to the more inclusive the Entrance Band for a 2009 self-titled album on Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace! label. In 2011 they were invited to London for the Animal Collective-curated All Tomorrow's Parties festival as well as a Latitudes studio session, the latter of which saw release as an untitled three-song EP in 2012. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi